I write this on a weekend which the forecast says will be the coldest of winter so far. The heater is on more often than it’s off and the electric blanket is going to nuclear temperature before I will get into bed. While we can make the conditions quite pleasant for ourselves, what should you be doing to look after your cat in winter?

What you should do to look after your cat in winter:

Provide enough warmth: A fairly obvious one yeah? Despite the fur coats our little friends insist on wearing, regardless of the season or social occasion, they still like to find somewhere to get warmer. Electric cat beds are widely available, or you could look at our Cat Cosy which is a wheat bag that you heat up in the microwave. The advantage of the Cat Cosy is that it’s safer because you don’t need to remember to turn it off, the covers are washable and hoomans can use it when they get aches and pains too! Other options would include our Feline Futon made from luxurious bamboo velour which we’ve designed with a gap to allow your puss-cat to get “in” the blanket. Pussa is right onto this design feature which I infinitely prefer to when she tries to get in our bed. That for me is a step too far.

Give them access to indoor sunshine: Depending on the orientation of your home hopefully you’ve got somewhere which gets either the morning or afternoon sun. Our bedroom gets the morning sun and Pussa & Soph will migrate there once the sun’s up, squishing themselves against the glass sliding doors to capitalise on the additional heat. If I could contort myself in the same way I’d probably do it too. You might also think about shifting a few bits of furniture around to so they can sit in the sun. Remember, you’re in a share household and it’s in everyone’s interest to maintain the peace.

Litter box placement: Granted, the litter box isn’t your finest item of home decoration and if you normally keep it in the garage or somewhere detached from your living area, be nicer to your cat and bring the litter box inside during winter. Maybe into the laundry or bathroom even if just as a temporary measure for a few months. That might head off having to clean up cat poo off the carpet……..

Keep ’em movin’: In these cold months it’s very tempting for us hoomans to stay within the warmth and comfort of home rather than lace up our runners and get our butts out for a run. These sentiments can afflict your cat too. Much easier to burrow under the hooman’s doona and cat nap for hours at a time. As a responsible pet owner it’s up to you to make sure that your puss-cat maintains their activity level be that playing with one of our Cat Teasers, Fur Balls or chasing after the laser pointer. Regular activity will help keep your Favourite Feline’s weight in check and maintain a regular appetite.

You can do all these things, but what do most cats think is the best thing to do in winter? You silly hooman……..curl up on your lap of course!

Earlier this year Dr Lauren Finka, a research fellow at Lincoln University in the UK, published findings of a study conducted as part of her PhD which looked at cat personalities. She identified that cat personalities fall into 5 major types. Rather than being determined by breed she concluded it was dependent upon interaction of genetics and personalities of the cat’s parents, the cat’s own DNA and their experiences during development and adulthood. Sounds just like humans don’t you think?

Which personality type does your cat belong to?

Human Cat: These are your classic personal-space-invaders. They sleep on your bed, sit on your lap, follow you around like a shadow. These cats crave human attention and are especially happy when there is more than one human with which they can interact. Domestic cats don’t commonly have an automatic affinity with humans, but are nurtured towards it especially if positive human interaction occurs when they are very young;

Hunter Cat: While most cats are born with some degree of hunting instinct these cats excel at it. They verge on being obsessed with their toys, especially realistic once like our Mice, where they will stalk and pounce and carry their prey around. Cats with this type of personality need space. They are happy in large cat enclosures where they can play amongst the plants and the bugs, while watching the birds;

Cat’s Cat: This is the cat that loves to be around their fellow felines. They groom other cats, maybe sleep in the same bed, always try to touch noses. This behaviour is quite contradictory to what would occur in the wild, but it is most often seen in cats who when they were kittens were raised in close proximity to other cats;

Cantankerous Cat: We can thank this personality type for the reputation cats have for being aloof. These are the cats who want to operate independently and only interact with humans on their terms. These are also the cats who appear to get stressed easily such as at the arrival of a new piece of furniture or a visit from someone they don’t know;

Inquisitive Cat: These cats are those who are into everything. Open a cupboard, they’re in; unpack a box, they’ll sleep in it; go to the bathroom, they’ll push the door open. They are the social butterflies, and love it when people come visiting or you bring something new home.

Dr Finka’s research involved 200 cats and their owners, and then putting them through a series of behavioural tests (the cats, not the owners….just clarifying). Clearly the major benefit of understanding a cat’s personality is to make sure that he or she would be a good fit to live with you and your family.

While I can see elements of each of these personality types in both Pussa and Soph if I had to categorise them into one I think I’m living with 2 Human Cats. Given that as I write this I have Pussa lying on my legs and Soph at my shoulder I’m fairly confident in my assessment.

Wouldn’t cats look funny without whiskers? It’d be like a human without eyebrows. As with all things in nature there is a definite function, not just an aesthetic, of why cats need whiskers.

Whiskers most commonly grow laterally from a cat’s nose (muzzle), as well as above their eyes, along their jaw and sometimes on the backs of their legs. Don’t be mistaken into thinking that whiskers are like human hair because whiskers are very sensitive touch receptors. They are embedded quite deeply in your puss-cat’s body and connected to their muscular and nervous systems. They’re like a highly tuned and sensitive cat antennae which are constantly scanning for changes to their immediate environment. So let’s just put it out there right now…don’t cut puss-cat’s whiskers! Yes, whiskers fall out and grow back like human hair but if you trim their whiskers they will become disoriented and scared because they can’t make judgements about their environment. Stick to cutting your Barbie’s hair instead.

The functions of cat whiskers

Position, position, position. At the end of a whisker is a sensory organ called a proprioceptor which sends signals to the brain and nervous system about the position of a cat’s body and limbs. The human body has these too for example in our limbs so our brains know the angle of our joints and how our limbs move in space. They also help cat’s measure distance which is on no better display that when they jump considerable heights.

Prey catcher. Have you ever noticed when you play with your cat that they appear to have trouble catching anything which is right in front of them? A cat’s close vision is not that great, so what they do to compensate is curl their whiskers forward to identify the place where the object/prey is. This enables them to know when and where to attack so they can catch that night’s dinner.

Mood identifier. Your cat can’t disguise their mood, it’s written all over their face thanks in part to the position of their whiskers. A content and resting cat will have immobile whiskers. A cat who has their whiskers flattened and bunched is most probably scared and an excited cat will push their whiskers forward. When this is accompanied with a weird sideways cross between running and jumping, and a big Basil Brush tail, Mr Pet Parent and I call this Psycho Cat which seems to happen for no reason whatsoever.

Whiskers can change colour too. Soph’s whiskers are predominantly white but occasionally she’ll grow an odd black one, which apparently is due to ageing. The myth about cat’s whiskers being as long as a cat is wide seems to be on the money too. I don’t know if that holds with cats who’ve got fat. Could I suggest that we don’t try it to find out either?! This super sensitivity of whiskers is likely to be the biggest explanation of why cat’s like to flick food out of their bowls and eat it off the ground. The pressure on their whiskers from the sides of the bowl is probably very uncomfortable for your cat, so flicking the biscuits out onto your kitchen tiles is really quite an ingenious solution. If that happens in your cat household maybe look at getting one of our Slate Plates or Feed Boards. Very zhoosh and contains those biscuit crumbs so they don’t get embedded in your human bare feet!

Pussa was a year old when we got her and Soph was 2 when she moved in 12 months later. They have both had birthdays in recent months and are now 9 years old. That’s 53 in human years. Luckily, they are both still in good nick and carry on with a good quantity of cat antics every day…chasing their own tail remains my personal favourite. What Mr Pet Parent and I have noticed as time goes on is that they do seem to sleep more than they did when they were younger….who knew that was even possible? That made me consider what things we could do to to make life better for our Favourite Felines when they move from being middle-aged ladies to “seniors”?

The major changes you’re most likely see in your cat as they get older include variations in appetite, reduction in physical activity/ability, and increasing sleep. Just like humans, cats who have been cared for well throughout their life with a good diet, sufficient activity, and avoidance of illness and injury are more likely to have a better quality of life in their latter years.

Considerations To Help Your Cat Age Well:

Preventative care: Good Pet Parents take their furry friends to the vet every year for their annual vaccinations and a general check-up. When your cats are older consider making it a twice yearly visit. Yes, I realise this will mean ANOTHER trip in the car in the dreaded cage, but many illness can be screened for and caught early on. This often results in a higher success rate and a less costly outcome;

Home adaption: We aren’t advocating installing a lift in your home (unless of course you want to!), but you could think about laying a plank of wood along a set of stairs to act as a ramp. This makes it easier for your older cat to get around rather than trying to negotiate stairs. If your cat has say, a favourite window sill that they like to sit on, you could help them out by rearranging some furniture so they don’t have to jump to get to it;

Litter box: Look at switching to a litter box with lower sides so it’s easier for them to step in and out of. A shallower tray will mean it holds less litter and needs more frequent changing but the alternative is for them to do their business on your brand new carpet;

Check their weight: If your cat is already on the tubbier side then you should get them slimmed down. Remember, the cat can’t peel back the lid of the can or open the biscuit packet. If puss-cat is overweight that’s your fault and you’re the one who needs to fix it. Look at one of the diet formula dry foods and take particular note of the volume of food you are giving your cat. Calories in don’t want to exceed calories expended;

Keep them active: Going hand-in-hand with an appropriate diet is maintaining an adequate level of activity, especially for indoor cats. Interactive toys like our Cat Teasers encourage puss to do short bursts of chasing, and independent toys like our Fur Balls, Mice or CAT-erpillars encourage pouncing, play fighting and batting;

Sleeping arrangements: Similar to the litter box scenario if your cat has mobility issues, look at a cat bed with shorter sides that is easy to step in and out of. Our Slumber Yards are purrfect!

Everyone who shares their home with a feline knows that cats need to scratch. This is a normal, healthy cat behaviour which they undertake for a variety of reasons.

Reasons cats need to scratch:

It helps their physical condition. This includes maintaining strong claws as scratching helps dislodge the old outer claw. It also serves to strengthen pusscat’s shoulder muscles, along with stretching the tendons in their feet

It marks a cat’s territory both visually and through scent. Particularly for outdoor cats who scratch on trees, this will be a visual cue for other cats in the neighbourhood that there is already a cat in residence. When cats scratch against a surface they leave behind pheromones which act as another sign of the presence of a cat

It’s an emotional release. That’s not to say that when your cat scratches that they are necessarily frustrated, they could equally be excited, happy, or wanting your attention.

Soph’s handmade scratching board

Most of us have a couple of scratching posts available for our Favourite Felines covered in what can only be described as the ugliest carpet offcuts on the planet. When we buy them we think that they will also double as places where our pusscat’s can get up high and sit. Neither Pussa nor Soph are particularly sold on that concept, although they work a treat for when we need to brush them. We’ve found the best scratching posts to be those that are wrapped in sisal rope. It’s probably because the rope’s soft enough for them to dig their claws in, but strong enough to withstand the force of being pulled on. You might also find that your cat is like Soph and has a preference for a horizontal surface instead of a vertical one. We tried those compressed corflute cardboard ones, but according to Soph these don’t cut it. We ended up having to make our own, and yes I’m aware that we have probably given her an inadequacy complex by putting Pussa’s name on it. Oh well, she’ll get over it.

If you are one of the unfortunate ones whose cat is clawing up the sofa, expensive rug, or the curtains, they’re probably doing it because there’s either nothing else on offer, or they don’t like what or where the alternative is. Get yourself a new post (or move one you already have) and place it right next to where your cat is currently scratching. With a bit of luck and perseverance they’ll give up attacking your soft furnishings and discover the joys of the new post! Otherwise, you can also try some commercially available anti-scratching products like Sticky Paws. This is basically double sided tape which adheres to your furniture and it deters your cat from scratching because they don’t like the feeling of stickiness under their paws. There are also sprays which you squirt on and around furniture you don’t want them to go near. They contain non-toxic ingredients that cats don’t like the smell of and so will avoid. Of course, keep their claws trimmed too which will reduce their inclination to scratch as well.